


Serpent Queen

by orphan_account



Category: Archie Comics, Riverdale (TV 2017), bughead - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Veggie, angsty betty cooper, betty and jughead have always had feelings for each other, betty and the serpents get transferred to riverdale high, betty's in denial, bughead - Freeform, choni, if betty were a serpent and jughead wasn't, they've been falling hard, witty banters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-20 01:00:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16545776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: In an alternate universe where Betty is the Serpent Queen and gets transferred to Riverdale High where she's quite quickly reminded of the rare soft spot she's always had for Jughead Jones. Feeling non-deserving of him and afraid to ruin their friendship, she had put feelings aside. Will she be able to resist him now that she's been thrown back into his life?





	Serpent Queen

Today was officially the day Southside High was getting closed down because the Ghoulies finally got busted for their drug supply. Betty had merely rolled her eyes and sighed after hearing the news. It was no surprise to any Serpent that the Ghoulies were dealing drugs after the numerous times they were wrongfully prosecuted and punished for their dirty business. 

“This is gonna be a bitch to transfer so I need everyone to listen,” Betty loudly announced, voice echoing off all the Whyte Wyrm walls. Side conversations went to a halt as everyone turned their attentions forward to Betty who was standing on a platform. “There are no fights, at least not today. Don’t make us look like the dumbasses because we’re the fresh meat. But, that doesn’t mean you have to be their bitch. Defend yourselves, just be intelligent enough not to throw a punch because we already know those weakass Northsiders can’t fight for their lives. And most importantly, no getting attached. You fall in love with a Northsider and I swear to god I will strangle you with my own two hands. Southside Hellhole will undoubtedly be opening again, and I don’t need you creepily lingering some stuck-up jock or cheerleader. Got it? We clear?” All gave muffled responses of yes before starting their own conversations. Then Betty shouted over their voices, “The hell is wrong with you guys? I didn’t say I was done” She shouted, abruptly ending any whispers. “Just remember, Serpent stick together, there is no Serpent left behind today. We’re a family so don’t hesitate to come to us.” And with that, applause began to fill the room. She let out a small chuckle and rolled her eyes, “Shut up, we have to get going.” 

All the teenagers began walking towards the doors where five buses awaited them, except for Toni who stayed behind for her best friend.  Toni nodded assuring Betty when saying, “Solid speech, I think the ‘What the hell is wrong with you guys’ added a nice touch.” 

“Shut up T,” She deadpanned before throwing an arm around her and walking off to the buses.

\--------

Betty had always felt comfortable in her own skin, but today she experienced feeling uncomfortable. Somehow everyone seemed to be a part of an idiotic sports team and drowning in testosterone. It was disgusting. She had never been sexually objectified towards so many sex-crazed teenagers staring at her curves. And it wasn’t just a quick glance, it was a derogatory and foul stare looking up and down her body.

Self-consciously, she glanced down to her outfit and concluded it wasn’t as crazy revealing as people were making it out to be. Just a black camisole with lace trim, high waisted jeans paired with fishnets stockings, a grey and black flannel under her jeweled belt, black combat boot heels, and that notorious leather jacket that Betty Cooper had never been seen without.

She just wanted to stay out of trouble, that’s all she wanted. So Betty set a goal for herself, get to locker #418 to drop off some books, and then leave as quickly as possible. 

Oh and just her luck, there were two bulldogs standing right by her locker, awaiting her arrival. “Damn, look who had a glow up. Nice ass, Serpent Queen. What would it take to get you in the janitor’s closet with me in five?”

Her mouth was left slightly ajar, astonished by how stomach-churning Archie Andrew’s language was. She clenched her right palm and her nails began to dig into her skin, so she could stop herself from throwing a punch. “For me to be fucking brain dead, though I believe that’s called necrophilia,” She seethed with rage filling her body.

“Come on Betts, why so uptight? I could make you forget about all your problems,” He crookedly smiled before sliding his hand onto her ass to which Chuck chuckled.

She was enraged. No one dared to touch her. But, Betts. Really? No one called her Betts except… Betty quickly grabbed his wrist and shoved his hand off of her. She shouted, “Get the hell away from me!”

“Woah, Cooper. Do we got a problem here?” She quickly turned behind her and sighed with relief to see Sweet Pea behind her, his fist tightening. She did not answer him, afraid that her voice might crack which would lead to her sobbing. Instead, she quickly spun around the lock to her locker until it opened to which she slammed the door against the other lockers, making Archie Andrews and Chuck Clayton flinch.

Sweet Pea watched his flustered friend throw her backpack into her locker and grab two books, Algebra 3 and Chemistry, and then she turned to the two young men.

“If you even come one step closer to me, I swear to god I will smack the living shit out of you followed by every other Serpent who’s here. Stare at my ass and make all the lewd comments you want to your fucking friends, but touch me one more time and I will flip my shit because the only reason I didn’t today is because I’m the newbie. I refuse to sexually harassed by you, Archie Andrews. And just some advice, wipe those dumbass smiles off your face because nothing you did was funny.”

“Not the way I thought you’d be screaming my name, Betts,” He softly chuckled to his friend. Archie Andrews certainly didn’t earn the right to call her Betts.

Somehow Betty was able to withhold all the infuriation that was pumping through her like adrenaline. She simply shook her head, gritted her teeth, and stood straight up while walking straight to class. Sweet Pea shot both Archie and Chuck a threatening glare before following behind Betty. “What do you want me to do? Beat their asses because I can find them after - ”

“ - Get me Toni,” She choked on her own words, attempting to blink back tears. Within five minutes, Betty had dropped her books off at class and asked to go to the bathroom.

“Betty? Are you in here?” Toni’s voice was mellow and faint. There was no response, but she could hear muffled crying in the back stall so she walked over. “Betty, please open the door because I have new heels on and it would be a shame to ruin them today.” Toni softly smiled when she heard a small laugh in between Betty’s cry. Betty unlocked the stall, revealing herself; Smeared makeup and all. 

“Archie...He…”

“I know, I heard. Come here,” She replied before pulling Betty into a hug. “Toni, I - I wanted to hurt him so bad it hurt me. He looked at me like all I was good for was sex. I hate it here.” 

Empathetically, Toni stroked that back of her jacket. “I know B. I know...But we’re stuck here for at least a couple months. Look at me,” She said, pulling away from the hug.

Toni continued after she received eye contact. “You know you’re worth more than that and I am so proud of you with how you handled everything. And we need a strong Serpent Queen, but you can’t let Andrews and Clayton emotionally take advantage of you like this everyday…Okay?” Betty nodded and sniffled. “Good because…” Toni said in a singsong voice before paused to going through her purse. Betty quirked a brow, slightly perplexed. “I have black eyeliner and mascara for you to redo your makeup so you can go out looking good and kick ass today.” A smile formed on Betty’s face before she grabbed the makeup.

\--------

The Serpent gang took up two picnic tables at the courtyard. “Cooper, just say the word and we’ll beat Andrew’s ass,” Fang’s added.

“No, I set down ground rules and I’ll be go to hell if I go against them. Andrews can bitch all he wants, it’s not gonna get to me,” She reasoned.

“Betts?” A voice came from behind her. She quickly turned around to confirm it was him. Her eyes widened, completely taken aback by his presence. No doubt, a spitting image of his father. “Juggie!” She practically screamed.

“Juggie?” Toni mouthed to Sweet Pea, confused of how quickly she lost her rough composition. He shrugged, not recognizing this mysterious young man that made Betty’s eyes sparkle.

Betty practically threw her arms around him to which he happily greeted her embrace. “I missed you, Betts. How’ve you been doing?”

“Good now that you’re here,” She smiled, ignoring her shocked friends.

They pulled apart from their hug, her arms around his shoulders and his around her waist.

“Time did you well Jones, you look like a spitting image of your father. Though, I am surprised you never called.”

A look of remorse filled his face, before a smile appeared. “And you Betts...Looking beautiful as always.” A faint shade of blush was visible on her peach face as she uncharacteristically giggled. Toni’s jaw had definitely dropped. “Jones, as in the Jones?” Sweet Pea whispered to Toni. 

His eyes skimmed down her face. No surprise she had black eyeliner and mascara coated on her eyelids. The colors complimented her emerald green eyes. Her small nose, still scrunched up as she smiled. He had always loved when she wore her blonde beach waves down. And Jughead would have to be a liar not to notice her body was breathtakingly gorgeous. Her pale pink lips, still alluring and charming.

Betty glanced across his body. His jet-black waves of hair looked twice as attractive as she had remembered. Those ocean blue eyes still had that sparkled in them. She had forgotten about the freckles that were so faintly drawn onto his face, one could only see close up. His smile, still contagious. He had definitely been working out, arm muscles looking stronger than ever. He had grown into a very handsome young man, not that he wasn’t attractive before because he was. Betty always had a little soft spot for him whether she admitted it or not. But she had to push all those feelings down. She simply had no room for them.

Their eyes met, but she broke contact. She withdrew her arms from him and began staring off to someone behind his shoulder.  “Oh come on, you’re really gonna let Jones feel you up and not me?” 

Jughead awkwardly slid his hands against his own jeans before he snarled,“Archie, shut the fuck up, just because you can’t get any and you’re raging with testosterone doesn’t mean you have to sexually harass the new kids.” Clayton and Archie snickered at each other before waling away. 

“You gonna tell me about that?” She inquired. “When I moved out of his house, he took it real personally and has been an ass ever since. Just like that, within a day, he pretended our childhood friendship didn’t exist.” She nodded, understanding. That was definitely an Archie thing to do. After all, she did spend the first ten years of her life attached to the limb of Jughead Jones so they actually knew each other.

“What happened after your mom left Jug? I knew you were devastated, but you never called after. I was stuck on the Southside with no connections to the North. I always thought - ” She stopped herself...again. 

“I...I’m so sorry. There hasn’t been a single day where I’ve thought about calling you up,” He apologized. “I would’ve answered.” The bitter feeling of self-reproach filled his body.

And just like that, the bell rang for the next period to begin. “Listen - uh - maybe we could catch up...this weekend?” He sounded...nervous as if she’d reject him. She nodded, “Yeah, talk to me later.” He cleared his throat. “Okay, talk to you later Betts,” He muttered before turning and walking alone to his next period.

“Betts?!” Toni scream whispered to Betty, in front of every single one of her Serpents. “How do you know Fp’s kid? He never came around the Serpents, Fp swore he wasn’t going to be born into this life.” Betty rolled her eyes. “Toni?” Immediately she responded, “Yeah?”

“Shut up,” She mouthed, eyes widened, before dragging her to their next class. So many confused stares and rumors got exchanged between the two tables of Serpents before they left for class.

\--------

“We survived a day without a single fight B, I’m honestly impressed. Oh my god, I completely forgot to tell you! Chuck Clayton was totally hitting on me in eighth period and it was so awkward because, you know, I’m not even into guys. But he totally wasn’t as gross as Archie was. And like - hey wait. Are you even listening to me?” Toni stopped herself from rambling. They had just walked out of the front doors of Riverdale High and were now leaning on the wall, school had ended about thirty minutes ago. The trailer parks were relatively close to school, about a twenty-five minute walk, so Toni and Betty had agreed to walk home together for as long as they were stuck here. 

It’s almost like Betty was...dare she say gazing? Was Betty Cooper gazing at something...or someone? Toni inched closer to Betty so she could get an idea of where she was mindlessly staring off to. It was no other than that Jones boy walking over to his car. “Betty,” Toni said, shoving Betty in the arm, no doubt taking her out of this little trance she was in. “Huh, what? Sorry. Chuck hitting on you is like so desperate - ”

“ - Betty,” She interrupted. “Are you gonna tell me about Jones or not?” Betty sighed, “It’s nothing, we were childhood friends. He used to live in the Southside, Sunnyside actually. His mother, Gladys, hated that we were friends because she knew FP was gonna appoint me to the royal throne someday...So she forced him to go to Riverdale Elementary which is where he met his new ex best friend, Archie Andrews. Much to Gladys’ dismay, he tried to hang with me which resulted in me chilling with him and Archie a lot...I don’t know everything that happened because at some point we lost contact, but before his mom left she got them to move over to the Northside. That’s - That’s all, T. Nothing else.”

“I’m not blind...and I know you have to be all tough around everyone else, but I know you. You might have been ten when you stopped talking, but it really seems like you liked him.” Toni prodded for more information. Betty tilted her head upwards and groaned, “Of course I liked him. How could I not like my best friend?” Toni giggled, “No silly. Like like as in a...crush,” Toni hesitated because she wasn’t sure how angry Betty still was, after all she knew how to throw a punch. “You like like him. The way you longingly stare at him. Have you liked him all this time?”

“Listen T, if I knew I would tell you. I hate talking about these things because those butterflies in my stomach and the way I stupidly giggle literally horrify me. I don’t have time to have mini heart attacks and act all mushy. I’m leading a gang, Toni. I’m literally leading a gang at age seventeen. I burdened myself with this so no, I don’t have time to have mini heart attacks and act all mushy,” Betty defeatedly sighed.

Toni, “You can’t hide from love, B. You can’t do that to yourself. So please, don’t make a list of why you don’t deserve it - ”

“ - Toni, I told you. I don’t have time and I did this to myself. Jughead’s not waiting around for me so it shouldn’t matter.” Toni stood there, perplexed. “What do you mean? Of course he’s waiting for you! It’s simple B, is he dating anyone?” She reluctantly responded, “No.” Toni smiled. “The fact that you know that warms my heart, but seriously. Don’t tell yourself you don’t deserve this because you do. You have room to have a soft spot.”

\--------

“You’ve been killing the game with your outfits for the past two weeks, ever since we got here. I’m literally jealous of your wardrobe,” Toni smiled. “T, we basically share closets. Lemme know if you want anything.” Betty kindly offered before pushing through the third floor doorway. “Also, since it’s Friday...do you wanna hang after - uh - whatever meeting I pull out of nowhere tonight? We just have to go over ground rules again and make sure our Serpents are clean from drugs.” Toni bit her lip, nervously. “Uh, I actually already made plans. Please don’t hate me.”

While walking down the hallway, Betty couldn’t help but notice someone leaning against what looked to be pretty close in proximity to her locker. Still not really focusing on the conversation, Betty answered, “I don’t. Just don’t miss the meeting.” The sound of their heels clacking on the floor filled the almost completely silent hallway, somehow Toni and Betty had managed to get to school twenty minutes before homeroom. Finally after what seemed to take forever, the girls had finally reached the other side of the hallway. “I know Fangs was super mad about - I’m gonna let you go B, looks like someone’s waiting for you.”

And before Betty turned around, her friend had disappeared into one of the many side hallways. When she turned her full attention towards her locker, she could finally make out the silhouette. It was Jughead Jones propped up against a locker two down from hers. She hated how, from the corner of her eye, she noticed how tight the sleeves rested against his biceps. And how dreamy his hair looked when he ran his hand through it. And how handsomely tall his body was. He wasn’t making this easy by looking so...mesmeric and delightful.

“Betts, you’ve been avoiding me.” He charmingly smiled. “I - uh - hi,” She stupidly spit those words out. Ugh. “Hi,” He kindly responded, “I asked if you wanted to catch up two weeks ago and you said you’d talk to me later, but now I think you’re avoiding me.” 

His eyes darted across her outfit. Today she was feeling rather rebellious and decided to match a black, lace racerback bralette from aerie with a flower embroidered, sheer mesh top matched with high waisted black ripped jeans. Obviously, she had on minimal, black makeup and her Serpent jacket. The surprising thing about this outfit, is that Betty had matched it with heels. Not boot heels, regular heels. Floral embroidered chunky heels to be exact. They were...girly. She felt totally out of her realm, but Toni had assured her that they looked killer and cute. Totally helplessly, Betty brought her front teeth to bite against her lower lip as she watched her childhood best friend...check her out? “Your outfit looks very true to your character, it compliments you.” She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear before mumbling a thank you and avoiding eye contact because she really didn’t want him to acknowledge the fact that her face felt like it was on fire. And before she could really think straight, his thumb was on her jaw forcing her to look at his piercing eyes. “Betts, you’re avoiding me.”  

“I have to go, I’m sorry. I - I have to go,”She quickly responded before dodging out of sight to the closest bathroom.

As soon as she walked into the bathroom, she saw a redhead and brunette with pink highlights making out so by instinct, she turned away...wait a brunette with pink highlights? She quietly groaned as she confirmed Toni was sitting on the sink counter with no other than Cheryl Blossom leaning up against her, lips locked. “Seriously T, you made me get to school early so you could hook up with Cheryl in the school bathroom?” Toni gasped, pushing Cheryl away. “Oh my god, this is why you’re blowing me off tonight. Unbelievable, I made three rules. Three, Toni. Literally three.” Awkwardly, Cheryl began to wipe her smeared red lipstick off. “Oh come on Betty! You so knew I liked Cheryl. You saw this coming,” She argued before pushing herself off the counter.

“At least be classy enough to go to a bedroom Toni...oh wait, you are tonight,” She deadpanned.

“What’s got you all hot and bothered, Betty?” Cheryl interrupted their dispute. Clicking her tongue, she teased, “I bet Jughead’s dying to nail you against a wall, maybe that’ll make you feel better.” Betty’s jaw dropped. “Really?! You had to tell her?!” Toni mouthed an ‘I’m sorry’ over to her. Stealing a glance at her girlfriend, Cheryl provocatively said, “I’ll see you tonight at my place, chérie, I don’t know how much longer I can wait - ” Betty felt dirty watching whatever interaction this was. “ - Okay Cheryl, I’ll be there. Try not to miss me so much.” Cheryl leaned down to plant a bright, red kiss on Toni’s cheek, “Big request TT.” And like that Cheryl walked out of the bathroom, leaving the inseparable friends in a position they had never been in before.

“I - I…” Betty glanced at her friend who shot her a very uncomfortable glance. Throwing her hands in the air, she said, “Okay, fine I approve. You can date Cheryl. Just know we’re going to have to go back to Southside some time and you won’t be able to bring her with you.” Toni gave a sad smile, “I love her and I’ll make sacrifices for her, schools aren’t going to bring us apart Betty. But...I am sorry about not telling you.” Betty gave a small chuckle, “Bitchy move.”

\--------

Betty felt like her brain was infected with thoughts about Jughead. Just like a virus, it wasn’t going to stop spreading until it consumed all her thoughts. Which is unfortunate considering the fact that Betty can’t just walk around with a smile everywhere she goes. She needed to be serious and Jughead was causing her to lose her train of thought. The stolen glances in the hallway only encouraged her to think of him more, she thought it would feel like a relief, but it was starting to feel like a burden.

It was annoying. It felt like in between almost all her classes, she had come across him in the hall and at least twice today, she literally full on bumped into him. It’s like he was everywhere. Or she was just paranoid. Probably paranoid.

It was eighth period, the last period of the day, and the only task she had left to do was walk home with Toni. She figured her problems would be over for today. What a naive thought.

Naturally when the bell rang, Betty felt instant relief, no more chances of seeing Jughead. Again, what a naive thought. The second she turned out of her class, she was greeted by a familiar face.

“Betts, I was hoping I could catch you.” He said, how fucking ironic. “Juggie,” She chuckled, “I feel like I’ve seen you an awful lot today.” Jughead chuckled, “It wasn’t pleasant slamming into me two times?” She stuttered, “I didn’t mean - no - it’s just…” He loved the soft pink glow on her cheeks when she blushed. In fact, he relished the fact she blushed around him quite often. She was so vulnerable. “I just thought, since Cheryl was planning on driving Toni home, you’d want someone to walk home with. As long as, you’re fine with that.” Scratching her head, she asked, “Cheryl’s driving Toni home? When was she planning on telling me?” He shifted closer towards the lockers, letting the mob of students easily pass by him. “I was simply told to be the messenger and I didn’t find out until five minutes ago.”

About thirty minutes later, they walked all the way to the trailer park. “Betts…” He said, thinking of what else he was going to say. “Yeah Jug?” He didn’t respond, still drawing his words together. “I really like spending time with you. I missed this, us,” He softly said. She stopped walking and turned to him, lips slightly ajar. 

Before Jughead got a chance to continue speaking, he got cut off by the uproar of four motorcycles pulling up to where they were. “Cooper, we got a threat from the Malachai, you’re gonna want to hear this,” Sweet Pea warned her. He was accompanied by Tallboy, Joaquin, and Fangs. She sighed, pure frustration evident. “Now?” He chuckled in return, as if she was being sarcastic. “I’m sorry, are you trying to say that there’s something more urgent that you, the leader of the Serpents, have to take care of? This is your fucking life Cooper and you’ve been on thin ice since we got transferred, you’ve been distracted. Your job is on the line and you want us to wait?”

Flabbergasted, she lividly shouted, “I’m sorry, who the fuck do you really think you are, talking to your leader like that? Who the fuck do you think was there to get you out of Juvie when you risked all of our asses by snagging jingle jangle? I’m confused as to how you’re so fucking sexist and narcissistic that you think you have a singular chance to turn everyone’s backs against mine and then become the Serpent King. Get your head out of the clouds Sweet Pea because you’re simply not as entitled as you think you are! And you think I don’t fucking realize this is my life? This may come as a surprise to you Sweet Pea, but I’m reminded of this job every damn second of my life.” There was an uncomfortable silence between them. Really, an uncomfortable silence that laid between Betty and Jughead. He had never seen her so vulnerable and irritated. 

She deliberately closed her eyes, inhaled and exhaled, and caressed her face with her hands. God, she could feel how big her eye bags had recently gotten. If it wasn’t late night school work, it was another problem with the Serpents. It always had to be something. “I’m sorry Jug, I need to go,” She had turned to him before stomping off with her combat boot heels slightly digging into the dirt road because of how forcefully she had been walking. Joaquin handed her a helmet and she hopped on the back of his motorcycle before they left.

\--------

It had been four days since Jughead had walked Betty home and he couldn’t stop replaying every moment in his head. He knew the Serpents had to be a burden, but he really hadn’t considered all the factors going into it. It was certain Betty had too much weight on her shoulders.

She sat on the bleachers, hands flattened out on the cold aluminum, absentmindedly staring off at the football field. Thoughts were spinning through her head, but she still felt empty. At least with the chill of the bleachers, she felt some kind of something. Plus her pounding migraine which is how she got out of doing anything in gym class, in the first place. There were so many problems Betty had to deal with, but every time she tried to think of some resolution, her headache had somehow managed to get worse. 

Archie Andrews and Chuck Clayton were in her gym class. Predictable, right? There was this tall, raven-haired girl and boy, who she believed go by Veronica Lodge and Reggie Mantle. They seemed nice enough...but that kindness certainly wasn’t extended to a gang leader. Furthermore, any free second they had their lips were locked together. In fact, the two had just passed the frisbee into the goal and were celebrating with a sweet kiss. That sure caught Betty’s attention. She stared at the couple...longingly. Not because she liked Veronica Lodge or Archie Andrews, but because she envied what they had. Love, or at least their depiction of love. She wanted that. Betty groaned. She didn’t have time for her mind to drift back to the one person she didn’t want to think about. Especially after the whole...incident with the serpents.

“Jones?” The teacher yelled in confusion, Betty’s head whipping over towards his direction. “Switched to Precalculus, schedule got changed.” He asked, “This late in the year?” He answered, “I’ve been making up the first half of the year for the past two months after school, Wetherbee was fine with it.” He chuckled, “Nice then, catch,” then he threw a frisbee to which Jughead obviously caught it before running off towards the other classmates. Why did he have to be so damn intelligent and athletic. It’d be fine if he was just a nerd or just a jock, but he was both. Did he really have to twice as charming?

Oh god, her head was starting to spin. She could feel her own head throbbing and her surroundings starting to look the slightest bit fuzzy. “I...feel like shit,” She mumbled to herself. Betty inhaled before she sluggishly stood up. She only had four rows to walk down. From a distance, the teacher looked up to see Betty, her body clumsily stomping down against the aluminum rows of the bleachers. “Cooper, you okay? How’s the head?” But his voice sounded...weird and distorted. Almost like it was too far away. She had finally reached the last row and then she heard Jughead’s voice. “Betts,” He called out, he could see her losing control of her body. She turned to him, trying her best to keep her balance steady. Once her eyes met his, she gasped as her vision went black. Her legs trembled before they gave out and she fell forwards. “Somebody get the nurse and call 911, now people!” The teacher demanded as Jughead ran to her.

\--------

“Betts...hey.” His voice was so smooth, but everything was cloudy. She could feel his hand caressing her forearm. Slowly, she started to open her eyes and damn the hospital lights seemed brighter than ever. “Oh god, did I faint in gym?” She groggily asked before flinching in pain when she felt her throbbing forehead. When she raised her hand towards her head, he quickly grabbed her hand and held it. “Stitches, you definitely don’t want to touch that.” She groaned to which he gave her a sympathetic smile. “My head,” She complained to which he responded, “It’s almost guaranteed that you have a concussion, you hit your head on the bleachers really hard, plus the cut on your forehead.” She uttered, “Oh, god.”

Still adjusting her eyes, she glanced to her right hand, his fingers were still intertwined with hers. His thumb was caressing her soft skin. “Also, Toni and probably every other serpent are on their way.” Her eyes widened, “Oh god.”

Before Jughead could comfort her, their attention immediately went to the doctor walking into the room. “Good, you’re awake,” She said with a kind smile, “My name is Doctor Swinder and I’ll be taking care of you today.” Glancing over to the machines, she said, “Well it looks like your heart rate is normal which means we can rule out any big problems as the cause.” Great. Just great. Swinder quickly looked around the room and hallway after glancing at her chart, “Is your mother…Alice Cooper here? Or some parent or guardian?” Betty licked her lips before honestly replying, “My mother’s a drug addict, probably getting high at god knows where right now. My father shot himself after I discovered he was the black hood...And as for some other parental persona, I’m eighteen. I take care of myself and you’d be hard pressed to find my mother as well as trying to convince child protective services to take in an adult.”

“Well, it’s good to know you have a support system, here with you. Is this...your boyfriend?” Her hands motioned to Jughead and Betty swore if she thought about that question for more than two seconds, she would have passed out again. “Friend from school. I’m in Betty’s gym class.” Thank god he answered shortly after the doctor asked.

She nodded before speaking, “I’m slightly concerned with your symptoms. Your teacher mentioned you had a headache and that you looked dizzy before fainting. Have you fainted in the past?” Betty shook her head, no. “Was this a regular headache or migraine?” Betty thought for a second. “Migraine.” She asked, “Have you been having these migraines recently?”  “I’ve been getting them for the past couple weeks.” The doctor flipped through her chart. “Have you recently had any additional stress? Possibly family - or uhm school?” Betty looked up to Jughead who encouragingly urged her to speak further. “I transferred schools recently and have a lot of work.” Swinder closed her chart and clicked her tongue. “I think we have our cultript, though I’m required to set you up with a  psychiatrist later to talk about your anxiety with you. After that, looks like we can probably discharge you, tonight - ” Betty interrupted, “ - Yeah I know nothing about my insurance or if I even have insurance. I get a check every month from my mom that pays the bills, but I - I don’t know that stuff.” The doctor reassured her, “We’re here to help you, I’m sure we can figure something out later. Make sure to get some rest while we wait for the  psychiatrist. It was nice meeting you, Betty Cooper.”

Betty sighed as she watched the doctor leave her room. “Juggie, I have to be honest with you.” Her voice sounded so beautifully hushed. “Anything you wanna say Betts, I’ll always listen.” She gave his hand a delicate squeeze. “I was avoiding you and I had forced myself to avoid you for the past month. But I - I don’t wanna do that anymore. Jug, I - ” Her door slammed opened, immediately interrupting the conversation. “ - Oh my god Betty, I heard. Tell me everything,” Toni threw her backpack to the corner of the room as she took the seat Jughead had just left empty. Betty’s eyes wandered past her best friend, watching Jughead slip out of her room.

\--------

“Toni, it’s embarrassing. Everyone watched me pass out. Plus, I can’t participate in gym until my concussion goes away which is literally going to take months.” Betty complained. “B, it’s only forty-five minutes, then you have eighth period and you can go home.” Toni comfortingly suggested as they walked down to the locker rooms. “Plus if you really want, I could skip class and hang with you on the bleachers.” She shook her hand, “It’s okay, T. I’ll just have to suffer. It’s just gonna fucking suck. Ugh.” Betty groaned once she realized the two had made it to the locker rooms. “Are you sure?” Toni questioned again. “Yeah, I guess. I might call you if Archie’s being a dumbass though,” She joked before Toni walked off. 

As Betty pulled the door towards her, she froze. She could hear a guy...in the girls locker room. Of course, it had to be Archie Andrews. She much rather would have preferred to walk in on another couple, as that seemed to be the latest trend of hers. Slowly, she kept resistance on the door to make sure it wouldn’t slam or squeak. She quietly slipped into the locker room. “Come on Midge, Moose isn’t going to mind. It’ll be fun.” Betty’s heart started to race. “I told you, I have a boyfriend and I’m not cheating on him. I don’t find anything about you attractive. Stop sexually harassing me, Archie.” She snapped. For some reason, she didn’t sound that alarmed...maybe there was some past relationship. She walked to the row of lockers they were in, they were in the corner of the row. “I want you Midge, dump him.” He seductively brought his lips to her neck, teasing her. “I told you Archie, whatever happened this summer's gonna stay in the summer! The only reason we slept together was because I was heartbroken Moose had broken up with me.” 

She immediately pushed him off to which his hand securely gripped her wrist. She gasped, not realizing how rough he was going to be. “Let go of my arm, Archie!” Betty watched as he tightened his grip on her. “She said let go asshole,” Betty raged before using all her force to push his body away from Midge’s. “This is the girls’ locker room and unless this is a really fucking idiotic way to tell us something, get the hell out.” He mockingly chuckled, “And if it isn’t the biggest slut this school’s ever seen which is hysterical because you’ve been here for a total of - ” Using her right fist, Betty punched somewhere on the left side of his face. “Say that shit to my face again, Archie Andrews, and I will make sure your face is bleeding by the time I’m done.” 

He scowled at Betty before walking out of the locker room. “Thank you, Betty,” Midge gratefully said. Betty simply nodded before walking to a different row of lockers, almost afraid to speak because her throat felt heavy. She quickly changed into a pair of black leggings and white crop top from Aerie.

Glancing at herself in the mirror, she watched a tear stream down her cheek that she quickly wiped away. The stitches were painfully obvious on her forehead, there was no way anyone had missed them today. Without her jacket, she felt like a different person. There were too many factors within gym class. As she opened the door, she almost bumped into someone. 

“Watch your fucking step,” She uttered, voice still shaky. “Sorry, Betts...oh my god, what happened to your hand? It’s bruised.” Jughead immediately asked. She looked up, remorse clearly in her glassy eyes, “Oh god. I’m so sorry, Jug. I - I…” She choked. He wasn’t making speaking any easier with his piercing blue eyes staring into her soul. “Archie was harassing Midge in the locker room before class and then he…” She shameful broke eye contact “...Called me a slut.” She mewled. “Let me get out of gym and we can talk, okay?”

As her gym class walked out to the field, Jughead walked towards her with a warm smile. “Let’s sit at the bleachers.”

The pair walked over towards the seats. Betty’s breathing was still shaky and Jughead could tell she was on the verge of tears. “Betts, you don’t believe Archie...right? You can’t believe that that derogatory noun describes anything about you. You do know that, right?” She shook her head, but he could he her hesitancy. “Jug, it’s not the first time I’ve heard someone call me a slut. It’s just...the first time I’ve actually felt hurt. It’s Archie Andrews, the actual biggest man whore I’ve ever seen and he, he saw something in me, Jug. Maybe it’s my clothes or the way I - ” “ - I won’t let you think for even a second that you’re this - I’m not even going to say that disgusting word - because you aren’t. Archie’s a literal sexual predator who is only safe because of football, so don’t believe his absurd language.” 

“What did you tell him to get out of gym?” She quietly asked, changing the subject. “That I had a headache.” She nodded in response and gazed at him, eyes soft. “You didn’t have to, Jug.” Gazing back, he responded, “But I wanted to. You’re dealing with so much, you need someone by your…” He stopped speaking, glancing over to Archie. “I’d tap that for sure, I’m sure Betty’s a freak in the sheets. We know she likes it rough, clearly,” He pointed towards his bruised face, “I heard she even has play costumes.” He fiendishly looked to Betty with his friends. 

Jughead could see her eyes clouding up,  “You’re ethereal, Betts. I mean it. Everything about you is ethereal. You take my breath away and I don’t care what - ” He was cut off by Betty’s luscious lips clashing against his own. He immediately melted into the kiss, hands sliding to her hair and cheek. The taste of mint from Jughead’s lips drowned the taste of her salty tears that were gracefully falling down her face. She ran her hands up his muscular arms, eventually reaching his broad shoulders, where she excitedly threw her arms around his neck. He leaned in a little closer, their foreheads touching, so consumed by their kiss. It was certain he couldn’t fight any feelings anymore that were racing through his head. Her very smell was flooding his senses now. There was so much anticipation towards this moment. As their lips parted, he relished in the sweet, subdued smile that rested on her face. She had shaky, shallow breaths.

Archie had completely stopped playing ultimate frisbee, his lips slightly parted. That sure wiped that devious smile off his face. He was shocked at how he couldn’t get Betty wrapped around his finger, yet she threw herself at his ex best friend Jughead Jones. Not only that, her hands were around his neck as if she was holding on for dear life. And his hands, in her wavy hair and her sharp jawbone. He had her, that’s for sure. He rolled his eyes and continued playing in class.

“Jug,” She whispered, her head lowering to the crook of his neck. “Yes, Betts?” She let out a sigh of relief, breath brushing against his neck. “Kiss me. I need to know you feel the same way. Kiss me like you want me.”

He gladly brought her face to his and looked into her emerald green eyes. “You’re so beautiful.” His lips hovered against hers. “You’ve always been so beautiful.” She whimpered in anticipation for his lips to move against hers. “So beautiful,” He mewled as their lips met again. Their lips were like to puzzle pieces that perfectly fit with each other. They were lost in time for a short time his lips were on hers. “I want you. I’m yours, Betts. I’m yours…” He repeated as she happily chuckled, many emotions taking over her body. “I’m yours.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to comment any requests or comments down below!


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